on the broadcast tonight, fight to the finish. the final hours now after a long haul. the final arguments from the candidates. and it's the undecideds in iowa who will decide it. captured. after a terrifying string of over 50 fires in just days, los angeles police say they have caught the arsonist some have called a domestic terrorist. winter wallop. bitter cold, high winds and snow, depending on where you are and where this weather is headed, the new year is arriving in a big way. did you see this? catching up on everything that happened during the holiday break including one very good dog. break including one very good dog. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening and happy new

year. it got so bad that residents in los angeles last night were told to leave their outdoor lights on while they slept. someone has been setting fires -- over 50 of them just since friday. sometimes more than one fire at a time and at one point, in fact, there were 11 fires burning in a two-hour period. then today came word that police there had picked up someone they called a person of interest at first. then that person became a suspect. and then tonight a suspected serial arsonist has been charged. this story's still on the move tonight. we want to go quickly out to nbc's mike taibbi in north hollywood. mike, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. most of these fires, just about all of them, started out as car fires but some were near buildings where people were sleeping. that's why this arson spree could have easily resulted in multiple tragedies. earlier today charlie beck said of the suspect in custody, we've

got the right guy. we're very confident we found our man. late sunday police released the surveillance video showing the man they believed to be the suspect. white male, receding hairline, ponytail. overnight there were 12 more fires, all fitting the pattern. 3:00 a.m. monday morning they found him driving a van near hollywood's sunset boulevard and brought him in for questioning. he soon became the suspect. >> the van resembled a description provided by the arson task force and the driver resembled a person of interest seen in a videotape released by the multi agency arson task force the previous evening. >> reporter: it had been a maddening four nights. one after another, a car would be set ablaze in these densely populated neighborhoods. >> all the sleepless nights. all these last several days it's been almost like a batman movie where they are chasing somebody. >> reporter: while the chase was on, in some cases residents fought fires themselves until fire department units arrived.

the fires were especially dangerous given one of l.a.'s signature housing styles -- homes or apartment buildings with carports adjacent to or even directly below room where people lived. dozens of people had to be moved to safety, disaster averted. >> fortunately there has been no loss of life related to these fires to date and there have been no civilian injuries. >> reporter: but lots of terrified citizens like eric jones, awakened by one of the last of the fires. >> i smelled smoke. i'm like, holy moses. my place is on fire. >> reporter: finally, the big break. the suspect apprehended in the predawn dark and evidence recovered suggesting he was the one. >> it's been very scary not knowing who this was and how many fires were occurring so quickly and endangering just so many lives. >> reporter: as for motive, there is no official word yet. there have been media reports that the suspect was involved in a dispute with immigration officials.

no deaths or injuries, but property damage is estimated to top $2 million. brian? all right. mike taibbi starting us off from north hollywood. we hope it's going to be a quiet night out there in the southland tonight. now we turn our focus to politics and the last big final push to the very first contest of the season. right now about this very time tomorrow night politically engaged iowans will start to gather to caucus, and at the end of the night tomorrow night we'll have our first result in the gop race. and a big factor tomorrow night will be this -- the number of undecided voters as of tonight is enormous. our team is on the ground, including nbc's ron mott and chuck todd and andrea mitchell who will start us off this evening from des moines. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. with only one more day to go, the deck has been shuffled once again. rick santorum now has the momentum in a contest where the

lead has changed hands seven times since last may. in the most volatile republican contest in modern times, the final 24 hours are a scramble. rick santorum is drawing crowds for the first time, and targeting the frontrunner mitt romney. >> we are not looking for a chief executive officer for this country. we are looking for a commander-in-chief. [ chanting ] >> reporter: congressman ron paul returned to iowa from a holiday weekend off, bringing along his son, the kentucky senator rand paul. paul has been slipping in the polls despite his populist appeal. y what's up with the rr politicians? lots of bark. when it's show time, wimpering like little shitzus. want big cuts? ron paul's been wanting it for years. >> reporter: paul's supporters are vocal but many aren't eligible to vote. today newt gingrich conceded he will not win iowa blaming the barrage of negative ads from romney supporters. >> newt has more baggage than the airlines.

>> i don't think i'm going to win. you look at the numbers and that volume of negativity has done enough damage. >> reporter: romney brushed gingrich off telling savannah guthrie for "today" show. >> i know the speaker is angry. i don't know why. my anger will be focused on president obama's failures to put the american people back to work. >> reporter: michele bachmann isn't giving up either despite coming in dead last in the final poll. >> growing up in iowa. >> we think people will be surprised. we think we'll see a miracle on tuesday night. i believe in the one who sends miracles. >> reporter: her new tv ad compares her to the iron lady, margaret thatcher. in an interview with nbc news, she slammed ron paul for, she says, being soft on iran. do you think ron paul, given his position on iran, is qualified to be commander-in-chief? >> i think ron paul would be a dangerous president of the united states. and i do not think he will be

our nominee for a moment. >> reporter: is he more dangerous on iran than barack obama in your view? >> in my view he is, absolutely. he's to the left of barack obama. >> reporter: rick perry is also fading fast but told chuck todd he won't drop out. >> i'm the only one of the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives that are running that actually has the ability to raise the money, to have the organization, to run through and finish the primary process. >> reporter: with all this, perhaps it's no surprise so many likely caucus goers are still undecided. >> i think iowans have been torn between a candidate they would support who could send a message and a candidate who they could support who would win. >> reporter: in fact, because this is a caucus and not a primary, caucus goers can listen to the speeches and then decide which is why iowa is so hard to predict. brian? >> andrea mitchell in des moines. what else do we expect after the kind of race we have watched this season? it is indeed a lot of undecideds going into the caucus at the last minute before tomorrow night.

nbc's ron mott has been talking to the people of iowa. he's with us tonight. hey, ron, good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian, good evening to you. the voters we talked to today say they are struggling with their decision, not because of political positions or the blitz of advertising aimed at them. they say they simply cannot decide which of the candidates has the best shot at beating president obama. >> you didn't do anything? >> reporter: breakfast at the whites this morning was served up decisively. cold cereal for 11-year-old jackie, a splash of joe for 9-year-old joe. ask mom and dad who they will vote for in the caucus and they are less certain. >> i don't think of the candidates there is that guy or that woman that's exciting -- you know, that's excited the electorate out here. >> i'm leaning toward mitt romney mostly because i'm looking for somebody i can trust. >> reporter: across iowa, 41% of

likely caucus goers were undecided going into the final weekend according to a des moines register poll. >> we have it narrowed down. >> reporter: indecision was still on the menu today at the drake diner. are you leaning toward anybody at this point? >> not really. i really like gingrich and ron paul has some good ideas. probably going to have to jump in a boat but i don't know which one yet. >> for me it's going to come down to the guy with enough support to win the election this year. >> reporter: with six candidates vying to win their vote and enduring a dizzying mix of messages and positions along the way, deciding is easier said than done. it's not just deciding which candidate lines up closely on the issues says one expert. >> they want to hear what friends and neighbors have to say at those precinct meetings before they make a final decision. >> reporter: those decisions haven't always propelled the eventual nominee. republican mike huckabee won

four years ago. john mccain finished fourth as did clinton in 1992. >> i think iowans can be stubborn. they want to pick who they feel is the best. if that doesn't synch up with the country, so be it. >> reporter: iowans like to keep their options open. some voters say they will wait for the campaign representatives to get up in front of the caucuses tomorrow night to make their final pitches before the voters make their final commitments. brian? >> ron mott reporting tonight on the proudly stubborn iowans who get to do this first in this whole entire gop process. ron, thanks. we want to go to our political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd. chuck, after all of this, so much of the attention now comes down on mitt romney, a well-financed political machine with a lot of well-financed friends, but a man who still isn't the choice of so many of the people who will be caucusing. >> think about the theme we have had tonight. we talked about volatility. we talked about surging candidates. but there is one candidate who has shown stability. that's both a blessing and a curse. it's mitt romney.

look at this. 25%. that's the number he got on caucus night four years ago. the first des moines register of this cycle in june 2011, he was sitting at 23%. our last nbc news marist poll, mitt romney, 23%. the last des moines register poll, mitt romney, 24%. he has one issue here. that is three out of four iowa republican party activists essentially -- and that's who shows up to these things -- are not yet sold on mitt romney. now, if what happens tomorrow night -- if we see more voters come in and say, it's time to pick a nominee, somebody to face off against president obama, that's good news for mitt romney. this is about connecting to the average iowan, he's got a problem. brian? >> chuck todd will be a big part of our coverage all day tomorrow and all night tomorrow night. chuck, thanks. when we come back here after a quick break tonight, a genuine tragedy on mount rainier. a park ranger, a young mother of two, shot to death and the frantic search for the gunman. and later, messing with a classic and some of the other stories you might have missed

while trying to enjoy the holidays. that's why you should always leave the news to us. y

if you have ever vacationed in a national park then you know the park rangers are true public servants. they are not in it to get rich. for them, their job is a calling to serve the public and work in a beautiful place. it was a new year's day tragedy atop mount rainier in washington state when we learned a park ranger, the mother of two young children, was shot to death during a routine traffic stop to check for tire chains. then came a massive man hunt for the gunman, a search that appears to be over tonight. our report this evening from nbc's kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: it's known for pristine wilderness, but for the past 24 hours mount rainier national park was the scene of terror and a massive man hunt. >> to think it would be happening here at our park is just surreal.

>> reporter: the body of 24-year-old iraq war veteran benjamin colton barnes was found in the snowy forest after police say he left behind a trail of victims. four shot at a house party south of seattle on sunday morning. then rainier park ranger margaret anderson. >> i don't think she probably even knew she was being fired upon until it happened. >> reporter: the mother of two killed after she tried to stop barnes after he ran a routine checkpoint. >> he came out with a high powered rifle and opened fire on her. >> reporter: anderson's husband was also a park ranger. the two met doing the job she loved. her father spoke to our nbc affiliate in seattle. >> the community has lost a friend. somebody who cared about her job, cared about the people, cared about their safety. >> reporter: as flags flew at half staff, anderson's co-workers and law enforcement mobilized, searching from the air and ground in up to 70 inches of snow, tracking the fugitive. under the cover of darkness, more than a hundred park visitors were evacuated.

in barnes's car police found weapons and body armor. the iraq war veteran had survival training and authorities say a past that included run-ins with the law. in court papers the mother of his child claims he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. while his death marks the end of the man hunt, for many year the hard part is just beginning. >> it really hurts when it's one of our own. >> reporter: kristen dahlgren, nbc news, los angeles. when we come back a new year announcing its arrival in a big way. [ male announcer ] get ready for some deli-style delic-ious-ity:

the subway big hot pastrami melt. dive into piled-high pastrami, spicy mustard, pickles and melt-a-licious cheese. treat your taste buds to a fresh toasted subway big hot pastrami melt. subway. eat fresh. today was the winter classic. it has become one of the great days on the hockey calendar every year. nhl hockey outdoors where the sport was meant to be played. the game was delayed because it's been so mild here in the east, but winter came to philly just in time. under a light snow, a great game. the great call of doc emrick.

an explosive second period. an explosive third period. and your final score, the rangers beat the flyers on home ice 3-2 in an epic hockey game. now about winter. you know it's officially winter when we talk about lake effect snow and that snow in philly today started way back up in the great lakes. part of a weather locomotive pushing finally across the country this winter. weather channel meteorologist mike seidel has been in the thick of it all day. in sherman, new york. hey, mike. good evening. >> reporter: hey, brian. good evening. the new year started with a reality check of cold, wind and snow. it got under way on new year's day. take you up to northern michigan. not only snow but wind. 50 miles per hour wind gusts. 15 inches of lake effect snow shut down highways and caused whiteouts. this following a december that saw the lowest snow total on record of ten inches. the snow caused a lot of

accidents and pile-ups. this one in chicago involved a dozen cars and shut down lakeshore drive for a time. there were no serious injuries. back in sherman the snow blowers were humming for the first time this season. with a storm total of up to 20 inches, skiers and snowmobilers are happy. but it's the cold that will get most of us. check out the forecast for tomorrow. in the northeast, sub freezing temperatures and an icy wind. in miami the low will be 40, approaching a high of only 56. maybe hand warmers on south beach. by wednesday the warm-up begins out in the midwest. chicago, st. louis, new orleans will bounce back above average and that warm air will head to the east coast by the end of the week, brian. unlike last year, the cold air mass will not persist this time. >> hey, mike. by the way, any time your skin color starts to match your jacket, we start to worry about you. please get in the warm truck provided for you in sherman, new york. mike seidel, always out in it. thanks for being with us. there was a daring rescue over the weekend in utah. a former police officer saw a car that slid off an icy bridge into a freezing cold river.

the panicked driver managed to get out but three kids were then trapped in the car. so chris wilden used his gun to shoot out a window. he and several others managed to turn the car right side up and free the kids -- two 9-year-olds and a 4-year-old. two of the children were revived with cpr. they were hospitalized with hypothermia. all three are okay tonight. we'll take a break. up next, as the last few hours of the holiday wind down, some of the news you may have missed including the end of a world famous ride.

finally tonight with thanks to my friends lester and harry and kate for filling in here and allowing me to sneak away to enjoy the holidays with my family, as we hope you all got to do as well. it is a tough time of year to follow the news closely, but of course that's why we're here. we thought we'd take a moment now to bring you up to speed on a few things that either somehow got by or went by too fast. he might have been the repressive leader of a dark sinister regime and a mortal enemy of the u.s., but for that final smooth ride, kim jong il chose detroit's best. talk about kicking it old school.

that's a lincoln continental limousine from the wixom assembly plant in michigan, circa 1976. it was armored and modified elsewhere. we thought the fog lights were a nice touch. so the man who was a fan of michael jordan, stallone and liz taylor, apparently loved american classics and had a fleet of these museum-quality dreadnaughts. nearby, china made news a few days back though hardly anybody noticed their announcement of a manned space mission to the moon. only a dozen people have been there, all americans and no one we know of since 1972. china's move comes just as the u.s. has gotten out of the space travel business. >> where does this leave americans? talk about the whole world watching. rttv, the english language version of russian cable television news has aired a pretty rough woman on the street report that reminded us of "jay walking" only with more edge.

the correspondent interviews people in new york and finds out how little they know. >> i know absolutely nothing about libya. >> reporter: she makes a broader point about a lack of basic knowledge among presidential candidates and many american citizens. now to news of the new year. they say it might have been a record crowd in times square -- but they always say that. they did clean it up amazingly fast and because they allowed our cameras to tag along, tonight on "rock center" we'll show you how they did it. >> got to get it done. ♪ imagine there's no heaven >> reporter: and here's how cee-lo green got in trouble on new year's eve. ♪ and all religion is true >> that was not the lyric john lennon wrote. he said imagine "no religion." lennon fans went after cee-lo and he said he meant no offense. not a great time to stay at the denver tech city marriott. an electronic glitch having to

do with the new year rendered all the key cards useless, everybody locked out of their rooms. and nobody's getting into the famous jaws ride at universal orlando after tonight. it's closing down forever after a great run. if we covered celebrities we'd mention the divorce of katy perry and russell brand, but sadly we don't. ♪ we do love a good web video now and then. this one got a lot of play over the holidays. the golden retriever who lights up while the guitar is played but doesn't like it when it stops. but look closer. there in the foreground is the reason a lot of people suspected this was a cute but savvy viral ad campaign for bud light. but we found the college kid who shot it on his iphone. he said that's his friend's dog named bailey and he said he doesn't represent bud light but apparently likes it just fine. so for good dogs everywhere, that's our broadcast for this monday night, the first of the year. thank you for being with us and happy new year. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you tonight for

"rock center" from this very studio at 10:00/9:00 central and then right back here, of course, for nbc "nightly news" tomorrow evening. for nbc "nightly news" tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now at 6:00, a bay area school sustains heavy dpaj from a fire. they're doing all they can to reopen the school. i'm jessica aguirre. the flames gutted several buildings in san francisco's western edition before christmas actually didn't really touch the school next door. but that doesn't mean there wasn't damage. >> the staff